Mail catching and delivering apparatus.



PAlENTED MAY 26, 190s.

No. 889,123. Y

o. c. HARDBN. MAIL GATGHING AND DELIVBRING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13.1907.

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PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

o. c. HARDEN. MAIL GATGHING AND DBLIVBRING APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED NOV. 13. 1907.

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.PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.`

0. C. HARDBN.

MAIL CATCHING AND DELIVERI-NG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13.1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

oRvILLE o. HARDEN, or EITHIAN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR or ONE-FOURTH ToWILLIAM A. wRAY, or EITHIAN, ILLINOIS.`

MAIL CATCHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

j Application filed November 13, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ORVILLE C. HARDEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Fithian, in the county of Vermilion, State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail Catching andDelivering Apparatuses; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and eX- act description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mail bagdeliverers and catchers and in its broad conception, it comprises aswinging frame mounted upon the door of the baggage coach andconstructed to sustain a mail bag, and a receptacle for the mail bag,which receptacle is provided at a station and includes elementscooperating with devices on said frame to release the bag.

The invention also comprehends an automatically closing door for saidreceptacle and means for permitting of and for causing said door to moveto a closed position after the mail bag enters the receptacle, suchmeans being actuated by the bag.

In connection with a Inail delivering and catching apparatus, having theabove features of construction and operation, the invention aims as aprimary object to provide a novel construction, combination andarrangement of parts.

The details of construction will appear in the course of the followingdescription,\in which reference is had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, like characters of referencedesignating similar parts, throughout the several views, wherein zwFigure 1 is a top plan view showing a section of a baggage car with themail bag supporting frame extended and the mail bag catcher in advancethereof. Fig. 2 is an end elevation showing the swinging frame. Fig. 3is a rear elevation of the swinging bag sustaining frame. Fig. 4 is afrontelevation of the mailbag catcher. Fig. 5 is a view representing intop plan and front elevation, a tripping device operable by the mail bagto permit of the automatic door above referred to, having movement toclosed position.

The car is designated by the numeral 5, and is provided at one sidethereof with a door 6 to one side of the frame of which, a mail bagIsupporting frame 7 is hinged, the

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1908.

Serial No. 401,997.

frame 7 cooperating with a mail bag catcher 3. The frame 7 includesspaced parallel horizontal arms 9, which, when said frame is eX tendedon its pivots 10, projectv laterally from the car. rIhe arms 9 areprovided on their respective upper and lower faces with projectingspaced apertured ears 11, which afford bearings for rock shafts 12having at their inner ends projecting arms 13 which are designed toengage the arms 9 as stops and which are held normally in such relationby torsional springs 14, having one of their ends secured to one of thelugs 11 on each of the arms 9 and having their other ends engaged withpins 15 provided upon the shafts. The arms 9 are formed at their endswith horizontally disposed lugs 16 and 17 between which a space 18occurs. The outermost 'lugs 16 are formed with openings 19 to permit ofthe movement therethrough of verti cal Alocking pins 20 which aredesigned to ilnpinge the lugs 17 and to hold the mail bag rings a withinthe spaces13. The pins 20 are pivoted as at 21 to rearwardly projectingarms 22 provided upon the ends of the shafts 12.

The mail bag catcher 8 is in the form of a spiral casing which isrectangular in cross section and which includes a downwardly inclinedchute portion 23. The entrance end of the catcher 3 is designated by thenumeral 24, and after a bag has been projected into said casing, the end24 is closed by a door 25. The removal end of the casing 8 is designatedby the numeral 26 and is designed to be closed by a door 27 having asafety lock 28 of approved form. At one side of the casing 8, adjacentthe front end thereof, straps 29 are provided which, at their projectingfront ends support horizontal rollers 30, which are disposedtransversely of said casing. rIhe straps 29 are secured to the upper andunder faces of the casing 3 and the rollers 30 are designed to engagethe respective arms 13 of the shafts 12,

The door 25 is carried upon a vertical shaft 31 which is journaled inspaced bearings 32 fixed at one side of the casing 8 and between which atorsional spring 33 for moving said door 25 to closed position is held,one end of the spring 33 being secured to one of the lugs 32 and theother end of said spring being engaged with a pin 34 provided on theshaft 31. The side walls of the casing 8 are constructed as bearings fora transverse rock shaft 35,

mounted between the upper portions of said side walls and formed withdepending ingers 36. At one side of the shaft 35, a depending lug 37 isprovided which lug is designed normally to bear against the door 25 andhold the same in its open position. The casing S is supported from aplurality of vertical posts 38 arranged about a central post 39 andconnected thereto by radially disposed brace members 40.

As the car 5 approaches a station, the frame 7 is extended manually asshown in Fig. 1 and the mail bag A is held by the pins 20 between theends of the arms 9. During the movement of the car, the arms 13 strikeagainst the rollers 30. Said arms 13 are thus forced rearwardly againstthe tension of the spring 14, and the shafts 12 being rocked, the pins20 are moved out of the recesses 1S, whereby the bag A is freed from thearms 9. The speed of the car causes said bag to be projected into theend 24 of the casing S, and in the movement of the bag into the casing,the said bag impinges the arms 36, forcing them rearwardly and rockingthe shaft 35 so that its lug 37 is moved out of engagement with the door25, at which time, the spring 33 acts to close the door 25, the latterbeing provided with a suitable automatic lock 41 of approved form.

The casing 8 is made spiral in form so as to take up the speed of thebag, whereby the force of the latter when it impinges the door 27, willbe so materially reduced as not to injure said door. It will be apparentthat when the bag A is in the casing S both the doors 25 and 27 areclosed, whereby access to said casing is impossible, except for thosewho are authorized and who have the proper keys. The arms 9 are spacedapart sufliciently to allow of their free movement above and under thefront end of the casing S.

The invention is simple in its structural details, inexpensive tomanufacture, and practical and efiicient in use.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a swinging mail bagsupporting frame having oppositely disposed projecting arms, lockingpins on the arms for detachably engaging a mail bag, spring control triplevers adapted to automatically release the pins to free said mail bag,and a mail bag catcher disposed in the path of the trip levers foractuating the latter.

2. In an apparatus of the type set forth, the combination with a mailbag supporting frame, of a mail bag catcher having open receivingand-removal ends, a door for closing the removal end of said catcher, adoor for closing the receiving end of said catcher, a spring foractuating said door to closed position and means operable by the mailbag for releasing said last named door.

3. In an apparatus of the type set forth, the combination with a mailbag supporting frame, of a mail bag catcher in the form of a spiralcasing having an open receiving end and an open removal end, a door forclosing the removal end of said catcher, a door for closing thereceiving end of said catcher, a spring for actuating said door toclosed position and means operable by the mail bag for releasing saidlast named door.

4. In an apparatus of the type set forth, in combination, a mail bagsupporting frame including parallel horizontal arms formed at their endswith spaced lugs, latch pins arranged to confine mail bag rings in thespaces between said lugs, spring he d rock shafts formed at their endswith arms pivoted to said latch pins and at their other ends with armsdesigned to bear against the arms of said frame, and a mail bag catcherin the form of a casing having proj ecting ends for engagement with saidlast named arms to move the same rearwardly as and for the purpose set'forth.

5. In an apparatus of the class described a mail bag catcher having aspiral chute, normally closed doors at the receiving and discharge endsthereof, and`mail bag delivering mechanism normally projecting into thepath of the receiving end of the chute and adapted to automatically openits door.

6. In an apparatus of the class described, a casing forming a chutehaving receiving and discharging open ends, doors normally closing theopened' ends of the chute, and swinging mail bag delivery meanscooperative with one door to open the same at the receiving end of thechute.

7. In an apparatus of the class described the combination with mail bagcatching means, of a mail bag supporting frame having oppositelydisposed rigid arms, laterally extended lugs on the arms', slidable pinsmounted in said lugs for detachably engaging opposite ends of a mailbag, and spring controlled trip levers normally disposed in the path ofthe mail bag catching means and actuated by the latter.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

ORVILLE (l. IIARDEN.

Witnesses:

W7. I. REYNoLDs, O. B. WYsoNG.

